SBU rugby taking on some of nation’s best

Games against Navy and Army give Bonaventure avenues to improve

The St. Bonaventure men’s rugby team started off the 2018 season with a 15-0 loss at Navy and a loss home against Army, 28-10.
Despite the tough start to the season, Head coach of Bonaventure’s men’s rugby team, Andrew Tui Osborne, expressed that it hasn’t been as bad as results have shown.
“We’ve improved a lot since last season,” Osborne said. “Despite the losses against Navy and Army, we are in a good spot compared to the games with them last year.”
The team faces huge challenges every season, as the Mid South Conference consists of some of the best rugby teams in the nation including: #6 Army, #5 Penn State and #11 Notre Dame College.
Although the team fell to both Army and Navy, Osborne sees those losses as a building block towards the big games still to come.
“We still have Penn State, Iona and Notre Dame,” said Osborne. “Our conference is very competitive. We’re ready to play and fix the mistakes in order to get some wins to our record.”
Senior captain, Kyle Ciquera, elaborated on the strength of the conference and how the team uses it as an opportunity to improve. Ciquera also added that seven of the Bonnies opponents this year are in the top 20 of the rankings.
“Playing in such a good conference is a way for us as a program to get better and see how we match up against the best in the country,” said Ciquera.
Playing tough teams so far, Ciquera believes that the team has gained a lot and is ready to keep competing with the best.
“We’ve definitely gained a lot of mental toughness,” said Ciquera. “These teams are very fit and physical, so it pushes us mentally to be able to overcome those types of things and succeed.”
While coach Osborne points out that wins on the field are important, the team strives to win off the field as well.
“We’re building the program here on and off the field. We’re here so the job needs to be done,” said Osborne. “We’ll want the excitement with the wins on and off the field, in the classroom, in the training and on the scoreboard.”
While St. Bonaventure may be one of the smaller Division I schools, Osborne points out that rugby is growing everywhere.
“It’s growing in the U.S. and is probably the second most growing sport,” said Osborne. “It’s in the Olympics. It’s growing in the youth and womens side of things.
While the goal for Osborne is to have his team competing at the highest level, he also wants to see his players grow as a person.
“I want everybody on the team to develop as a person on and off the field,” said Osborne.
While the wins haven’t come early for the Bonnies, Osborne expects improvement from his team going forward.
“I want to see improvement,” Osborne said. “I want to see us be disciplined and follow our process. I believe the results will come.”
The rugby team hopes it get its first win of the season on Saturday, Sept. 22 at 1 p.m., as they are set to match up against the University at Buffalo in a Mid South Conference matchup.